Hestia Strikes a Match

Grillo’s cheerful and misanthropic debut follows the romantic and ideological feints of a 40-something woman during the second American Civil War. It’s 2023 and a dozen states have seceded to form the New Confederated States of America, while what’s left of the Union limps along under the command of its first Black Madame President. Hestia Harris, a writer, tries to avoid the hordes of flag-toting Confederates trolling the libs in her precarious border state. Having heard nothing from her estranged husband in the two years since he left to join a unionist paramilitary group, Hestia turns to dating apps, screening cringeworthy profiles for Confederate leanings. The civil war element doesn’t yield much of a plot, though an act of Confederate terrorism proves consequential, and as Hestia adjusts to the new normal, she finds time for sex while the ruins of democracy smolder in the background. Occasionally, the setup feels half-baked, though for the most part Grillo pulls off a clever satire of life in a divided country. At its best, this is Bridget Jones’s Diary for the post-MAGA era. Agent: Naomi Eisenbeiss, Inkwell Management. (Apr.)